Another nail biting match took place at the Bogambara stadium earlier today when St. Anthony’s College took on Dharmaraja College. Both sides came in off defeats last week against St. Peters College and Science College respectively.
It was an important match for both the teams in the race of qualifying, St. Anthony’s having lost all of the three matches were on the hunt for their first win of the season, the Rajans on the other hand needed the win to secure the 4th qualification spot for the cup competition.
Dharmaraja kicked off the game through Gihan Ishara with referee Irshad Cader blowing the whistle. St. Anthony’s knocked on from the kick off leading to the first scrum of the game which Dharmaraja lost against the head allowing the St. Anthonys number 6 Pasindu Dulshan to score in the left corner. Samuel Maduwantha failed to add the extras making the score 5-0.
Dharmaraja made a mess with the restart, kicking directly into touch. Following the ensuing scrum St. Anthony’s went onto scorethrough their hooker Dinesh Rodgrigo who barged his way over the try line. Maduwaththa made it 12-0 with only 4 minutes on the clock. St. Anthonys then missed a 25m penalty which was not grounded by Dharamaraja enabling Mohommed Sabir another try.Maduwaththa added the extras making it 19-0 with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
Photos – Dharmaraja College vs St. Anthony’s College – Schools Rugby 2016
The Rajans comeback got rolling when they were awarded a penalty for not rolling away which Gihan Ishara delightfully footed through making it 19-3. After some intense rugby by both the sides for a good 20 minutes, Chalindu Wijesinghe stole the ball off anoverthrown lineout and stepped his way to a try in the right corner of the field for Dharmaraja, the conversion by Ishara went astray.
The last passage of play in the first half was when Anthonys were given a 40m penalty at an angle which Samuel Maduwantha put through easily. Throughout the game his kicking game was on point, not only with the penalties but also when clearing his lines and gaining territory.
Half Time – Dharmaraja 8(1T 1P) – 22 (3T 2C) St.Anthonys.
The second half started with a brilliant try by the Rajans scrum half Tharuka Galapitigedara who sprinted 70 meters to touch down on the right corner of the field. Romesh Anandaraja was vital in creating the space for Bandara. (22-13).
Gihan Ishara got another opportunity with a penalty being awarded to Dharmaraja for hands in the ruck which this time he happily slotted through making it 22-16. Maduwantha put through another 40m angled kick which was slightly easier than the one he slotted in the first half making it 25-16.
After the game had settled a little in the second half, out of the blues the Rajans soared forward in attack but were held up leading to a 5m scrum, #8 T. De Silva picked it up brilliantly at the back of the scrum and went on to score under the posts. (25-23)
Maduwantha eventually slotted an easy penalty for the Anthonians giving them a 5-point cushion (28-23). He put through another penalty minutes later which sealed the game and took his personal tally for the game to 16. (31-23)
This leaves the 4th qualifying spot open with Dharmaraja set to play St. Peters next week whilst St. Anthonys are set to take on Kingswood.
Full time score: Dharmaraja College23 (3T 2P 1C) – St. Anthony’s College 31 (3T 4P 2C)
ThePapare.com man of the match: Samuel Maduwantha
St.Anthonys
Try scorers – Pasindu Dulshan, Dinesh Rodrigo, Mohommed Sabir
Conversions- Samuel Maduwantha (2)
Penalties- Samuel Maduwantha (4)
Dharmaraja
Try scorers – Chalindu Wijesinghe, Tharuka Galapitigedara, Tharaka de silva
Conversions – Gihan Ishara (1)
Penalties – Gihan Ishara (2)
